


Long Black Night, Morning Frost

by gardenrocket



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Mute Runner Five, Non-Binary Runner Five, Season/Series 01 Spoilers, im only on the end of season two folks, it will diverge from canon at parts, shoutout to everyone else who's done this and inspired me, shut up, so please forgive me if i do something thats dumb in the grand scheme of ZR, why does it have a dash, woah look its a my runner five does zombies run fanfic omg i did it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:08:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28726377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gardenrocket/pseuds/gardenrocket
Summary: "I'm still here, but all is lost."A story following my Runner Five throughout their life at Abel.
Relationships: Runner Five & Maxine Myers, Runner Five & Sam Yao
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6





	1. We Can Live A Little Longer (If We Put Our Minds To It)

**Author's Note:**

> i know this isnt the most original idea so thank you to those who have done it before me ive probably read your fic and loved it
> 
> title of fic is from "Cry for Judas" by The Mountain Goats
> 
> title of chapter is from "We're All Gonna Die" by AJJ

Sam hadn’t really bet on the helicopter falling out of the sky. Well, being hit by a rocket launcher and _then_ falling out of the sky. His first thought was that hey- new and exciting things can still happen, even in an apocalypse. His second thought was that it was really quite tragic that the people on said helicopter were probably dead. The second thought didn’t last very long though, and most of the thoughts after it didn’t either, because he was busy directing an unknown person--who for some reason he decided to call Runner Five, even though that probably wasn’t the best way to go about moving on from Alice--through the dangers outside of Abel. It went terrifyingly quickly and painfully slow at the same time, and he was pretty sure he didn’t actually breathe until they were through the gate.

In person, the new Five wasn’t at all what he’d expected. He’d assumed Mullins, being a military base, would be sending someone more military-ish, but New Five certainly wasn’t that. They were short, with wavy hair that had obviously been bleached blonde at the beginning of the apocalypse, and hadn’t been cut since, leaving the lower part blonde and the upper part a dark auburn. They also looked very uncomfortable, with all the people crowded around them, and Sam’s job was really to help his runners, and that included in overbearing social situations, so he waved everyone off, motioning New Five to join him in the general direction of the Comms shack. 

“So,” He said, once they were a bit away from everyone. “I’m Sam, you heard me on the radio. It’s good to see you’re alive and all that, all in one piece!”

New Five smiled awkwardly.

“Right,” Sam glanced around. “You are in one piece, right? Not… not about to go grey or anything?”

New Five shook their head and readjusted their grip on the CDC box.

“Oh! That’s probably heavy, I can take that if you want, Maxine should be- there she is!” As Sam spoke, Maxine approached them, offering a grateful smile to New Five.

“Thank you for picking this up, you have no idea how much help it will be,” She took the box from Five, tucking it under her arm. 

New Five considered Maxine for a moment, expression quizzical, then gave a thumbs up.

“You really don’t talk much, do you?” Sam asked, then cringed. “Sorry! Sorry, that was- well, you’ve been through a bit today, I don’t blame you for not being chatty.”

New Five shrugged. They pointed to their mouth, then shook their head.

“You can’t talk?” Maxine asked, sounding slightly concerned in a very doctor-y way. 

New Five nodded and gave another thumbs up.

“Is this a new development?” 

New Five shook their head.

Maxine relaxed slightly. “Alright. I should still look you over, you did crash in a helicopter, and it’s protocol to do a bite check after runs. Can you walk alright?”

Another thumbs up.

Maxine motioned for them to follow her, and they started off towards the hospital, Sam tagging along because, well, he wanted to know more about this New Five. Also, he had nothing else to do, no more runs were scheduled for the day. 

He fell in step beside New Five. “Do you know any BSL?”

New Five looked up at him. They had to look a ways, they were quite a bit shorter than him. “Yes,” They signed. 

“Oh!” Sam grinned, then slowly, and quite choppily, signed back, “I know some,”

New Five smiled, it was real this time, nothing awkward about it. 

“I was in the BSL club in Uni for my last two years, though I never did study enough to be fluent,” He explained, talking again. “I was always better at reading signs than signing them though.”

“We’re a perfect pair,” New Five replied, signing slowly, probably for his sake. 

Sam grinned. This whole thing might actually be alright.

* * *

Five, as they had been dubbed before even stepping through the gates of Abel, had already had a very long day. They hadn’t really bet on falling out of the sky in that stupid helicopter, but they’d never liked flying, and weren’t really surprised that it had happened. They’d gotten away with remarkably few major injuries, though that was really thanks to Sam reminding them their parachute existed. They liked Sam so far. He was nice, and seemed like the kind of guy who’d help you move a couch out of a fourth floor apartment without expecting anything in return. 

He was walking alongside them on the way to the hospital, talking about what every building they passed was. Five felt bad about it, but they couldn’t focus on what he was saying. They were tired, the adrenaline from running for their life having worn off, and it was taking all their energy just to keep walking. It probably would’ve helped if they’d slept at all the night before, but nerves about the mission had kept them up. 

They reached the hospital and Maxine led them inside, motioning for them to sit on one of the beds. “I’ll be right back, I need to put this in my office,” She said, nodding to the box in her arms. 

Five all but collapsed onto the bed, half ready to fall asleep right there, even with how physically gross and sweaty they felt. 

“Are you alright?” Sam asked. He’d sat down in one of the nearby plastic chairs, and Five could practically feel the concern in his expression. 

Five gave him a thumbs up. 

“Alright, Five, I’m going to start by looking you over for bites, it-” She stopped when she saw Five sprawled out on the bed, lips quirked up in a half-smile. “I’ll try not to take too long, we don’t want you falling asleep before we can get you to your bunk.”

Five sat up, face a little warm. 

“Is it alright if I touch you to check you over for bites?” Maxine asked, and at Five’s nod, began looking them over. She mumbled to herself here and there, when she got to various scrapes and bruises, but nothing seemed to cause her any alarm. She gently took their right arm and Five jerked back, a sudden pain in their wrist making them gasp. 

“What’s wrong?” Sam stood from his seat, like he might be able to help.

Maxine frowned. “You’re hurt. May I…?” She held out her hand.

Five blinked down at their wrist, pulling up their sleeve gingerly. It was all swollen and weird looking. They hadn’t felt it until now. They offered Maxine their arm again, and she took it, more carefully.

“It’s a sprain, it’s pretty severe, but it’ll heal as long as it’s taken care of,” She looked Five over again, considering them. “I think I’ll have you wash off before I wrap anything, if you’re comfortable with that? We have a spot you can do that here,” She gestured in the general direction of a door that led further into the hospital. “You’ll need clothes, too. The storage is right next door if you want to grab something, or we can send Sam.” 

Five looked over at Sam. “I don’t know if I trust his fashion sense,” They winced when they moved their right hand, but they’d never been good at one-handed signing.

“Hey!” He looked thoroughly offended. 

Maxine looked between the two of them. “I’m sorry, I don’t know British Sign. Sam?”

“They don’t trust me to find them clothes,” Sam translated, shaking his head at Five, who shrugged in a _what can I say?_ kind of way. 

“Alright, I can take you over to get something, then,” She replied. “Why don’t you update Janine on what’s going on with our new Five?” 

Sam groaned. “Fine. But let it be known that I don’t want to.”

“Noted,” Maxine said with an amused smile. “Come on, Five, let’s get you some new clothes. New-old clothes.” 

It didn’t take long to find some clothes in Five’s size. They were just getting something to sleep in, anyways. Though Maxine promised they’d be able to get more to wear the next day. Then they got to take a shower. It had to be quick, conserving water and energy and all that, but it was warm, and that was enough. 

By the time Sam returned, accompanied by a woman Five could only assume was Janine, Maxine was wrapping their sprained wrist. 

“You must be the new Five,” Janine said. 

Five waved. 

“Right. Sam said you don’t talk,” Janine considered them. “He also said you’re quite the runner.”

Five nodded slowly, not sure what was expected of them. 

“As you know, there is a vacancy in our runner’s ranks. It seems you will be able to fill that vacancy. Of course, you will go through the usual testing, but we have space in the runner’s lodging so you may stay there, unless you do fail the tests,” She nodded to herself. “I expect you won't.” 

Five gave her a thumbs up.

“I’ll speak with you more when you have settled in.” With that, Janine turned and left.

No one spoke for a moment, Maxine still intent on wrapping Five’s wrist and Sam looking at the door Janine had just left through. 

Five blew out a breath, shaking their head. They didn’t know what to think from that conversation, if it could be called that.

Sam looked back at them. “Yeah, well, Janine can be a bit… like that. She seems to- well I’m not sure about like, but she doesn’t seem to _dislike_ you, and that’s what’s important.” 

“Janine has a lot on her mind, running this place isn’t easy,” Maxine explained, moving on from Five’s wrist to any other scrapes big enough to tend to. “She takes some time to warm up to.”

Five nodded slowly. “I like her,” They decided. “She’s… cool.”

“Cool!?” Sam asked. “I don’t think I’d describe Janine De Luca as _cool_.”

Maxine grinned, following the conversation from Sam’s response. “Maybe you just don’t know what cool is.” 

He scoffed. “I know what cool is.” 

Five raised an eyebrow at him. 

“I know what cool is,” He insisted. 

Five relented. “You’re probably cool, too.”

“Thank you, I-” Sam stopped. “Probably?”

“Coolness aside,” Maxine interrupted. “You’re done, Five, though I’d like to keep checking on that sprain. Right now though, I’d say you need food and rest.”

“I’ll take you to get some dinner, then.” Sam volunteered. “Then I can show you to the runner’s lodging. And I am cool, just for the record.”

* * *

Sam took them to the cafeteria, which was almost empty, seeing as it had gotten pretty late. Five figured it was just as well, not to have to keep up any more conversations. They ate quickly--dinner was some kind of rice dish that wasn’t exactly hot, seeing as it was after the main mealtime. Afterwards, when given the choice, Five had decided to go straight to bed rather than meet the other runners just yet. They didn’t think they would make a great first impression when they could barely follow a conversation. Sam led them to the runner’s quarters, and there they parted ways. Five would finally be able to go to bed, while Sam had to head back to the comms shack to finish some stuff up. What exactly the stuff was he either hadn’t said, or they hadn’t caught. It could’ve easily been the latter, they felt like they were sleepwalking at this point and that didn’t exactly make them an active listener. They went straight to the bed that was now theirs, Sam had told them exactly where to find it, and climbed in, oblivious to the world around them. 

The bunk wasn’t the most comfortable, but it was a bed, and Five could probably sleep in the garbage after the day they’d had. It sounded like tomorrow would also have plenty to do, between meeting the runners, finding out about the tests they’d need to pass, and sorting through the storage to find any clothes that fit and looked half good. The backpack that held all the possessions, clothes included, that they’d kept with them since Z-Day was among the wreckage at the helicopter. Hopefully they’d be able to recover everything eventually. Five rolled over in the bed and squeezed their eyes shut tighter, trying to block out any thought that wouldn’t help them fall asleep. 

The strategy was apparently effective, because the next time they opened their eyes, the world was brightly lit by a mid morning sun. All the blankets they’d been wrapped in the previous night were now kicked to the foot of the bed, and Five felt terribly sweaty. They sat up and pulled the curtain around their bunk back, trying to get their bearings. 

The room they were in was empty. They hadn’t gotten a good look at it when they first arrived, being so tired that they’d just headed for the bed with the number 5 affixed to the railing. It was a top bunk, too, something they’d had to fight over as a kid. It wasn’t as exciting when it was assigned in a zombie apocalypse, but Five would still try to enjoy it. They hopped down from the bed, not bothering with the ladder, and headed out into the main room. The runner’s quarters were a funny hodge-podge of add-ons, and likely started as a very large shed, or a very small barn. Some kind of outbuilding. 

The main room was pretty nice for being put together during an apocalypse. There was a big old couch and an assortment of chairs, all generally arranged around a coffee table that had an old laptop on it, as well as at least 40 DVDs. It had quite a cozy feel to it, with blankets and pillows strewn around, and sun shining through the single window set by the door. There were also signs of the other runners here: knitting needles stuck in a ball of yarn, two yoga mats leaning against a wall, a set of heavy looking hand weights, a hoodie thrown over one of the chairs, and other bits and pieces. It was nice and Five decided they were quite looking forward to meeting the other runners. 

They grabbed their shoes from the rack by the door, it was the only thing they’d paid any attention to the night before, and pulled them on before heading out. It was sunny, as had been clear from inside the runner’s quarters, but there was a chill to the air that made Five wish they had anything but the t-shirt and leggings they’d slept in. 

Five felt a little lost, just standing outside the runner’s lodging, but they really only knew three people at Abel. “Knew” was really a strong word for the conversations they’d had the night before with Maxine and Janine. They wanted to find Sam, because if nothing else they could communicate with him, but his job was probably too important for Five to interrupt. 

As if summoned by their thoughts, a familiar voice drew Five’s attention. “Five!”

They turned to see Sam approaching, waving with one hand and carrying two thermoses with his other arm. “I brought you coffee, I wasn’t sure if you’d be up yet, but I’m glad you are. I’m terrible at waking people up.” 

“Thank you,” Five took one of the thermoses with a smile.

“It’s got cream and sugar, I hope that’s okay, I figured you weren’t the type to take your coffee black. Not that there’s anything wrong with black coffee! I just thought, well, it’s kind of gross, and you seem like the kind of person who likes not-gross things…” Sam trailed off.

“I don’t like black coffee,” Five replied after a moment. Sam had a way of saying so many things in one breath that they couldn’t be sure what they were meant to respond to. 

“Oh good,” Sam smiled, looking vaguely relieved. “The cream isn’t really cream, it’s that powdered stuff that lasts like, a bajillion years, but it’s not bad!” 

“I’m just happy to have coffee,” They took a sip to prove their point. It was pretty good, although it tasted like it had about a cup of sugar in it. “I haven’t had any in forever.” 

“Abel has plenty. One of those non-essential essentials, you know?”

Five nodded.

“I like your shirt by the way, I forgot to say so last night,” He said.

Five looked down at their shirt. It was a D.A.R.E. shirt, and too big for them. They absolutely loved it. “Thank you, it was the best thing in the… clothes… place…”

“Clothes place?” Sam asked, clearly holding back a laugh.

“I don’t know the signs for it!” Five replied emphatically. “I think I’m being descriptive enough!” 

“You are, you are, I’m sorry,” Sam cleared his throat, successfully not laughing. “Oh! I came to find you to show you around better. Figured you’d rather be shown around by someone who understands you. Language wise, I mean, not like, ‘I understand you at a personal level, and all your dreams and fears’, that would be weird because, well, we’ve known each other for, what, 18 hours, and you were asleep for at least 14 of them.” 

Five had no idea what part of that to respond to, so they just nodded. 

“Right then,” Sam started walking, and gestured for Five to follow him, which they did. “Let’s get you acquainted with Abel!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woah woah woah i posted a chapter! dang! i hope you all enjoy it. i DO take criticism of all kinds, cruel or constructive so hit me with your best shot. that said, i'm willing to read positive comments as well.
> 
> i dont know if this is going to lead to 5am yet! we shall see...
> 
> thank you to my best friend/roommate for betaing when he has never and does not plan to ever listen to zombies run. he is the sam to my five except for he is gay and i am a lesbian.
> 
> im @gardenrocket on tumblr


	2. someTitle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five gets their start at Abel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> howdy howdy
> 
> chapter title is from an assignment i had to download that my professor didnt rename descriptively and i havent stopped thinking about it

The second tour was much more informative than the first, which was wholly owed to the fact that Five was awake and alert for this one. Sam’s enthusiasm made it feel like the college tours they had been on, like he was going to stop and ask _“So what do you plan on majoring in during your time in the Zombie Apocalypse?”_ They weren’t sure how he was able to be so chipper, and wondered how much of it was genuine. Five didn’t doubt that he was a truly kind and upbeat person, but that was hard to maintain at all times without a little bit of acting. 

Sam had shown them the training area for the runners, the housing for non-runners, the makeshift school, the large farmhouse that Janine and a few others lived in, the kitchens and cafeteria, and finally the farmland. The two of them stood at the edge of one of the small fields. There was a lot of mud. 

“Well,” Sam said. “That’s the grand tour. Not exactly fancy or anything, but it keeps us alive.”

Five nodded. “It’s muddy.” 

“Not the whole of Abel! Just the fields,” Sam replied, tone slightly defensive.

Five turned around to look down the path they’d come down. It was also muddy.

“It rained last night, it’ll dry up,” He gestured at the sun as if to prove his point. 

“Fair enough,” They replied, ignoring the fact that more clouds were rolling in. Five figured they should back off on being contrary to Sam just for the sake of being contrary. They barely knew each other, and he was going to get the impression that Five was more of a jerk than they were. He just felt like someone they could joke with, even if they’d only met yesterday. That was probably just because they’d been stuck with military types for a good portion of the last year, who didn’t enjoy jokes and contrary attitudes. 

“Thank you for the tour.”

“It’s nothing, really, you should know about the place you’re living at,” He said, waving their thanks off. 

“Yes, but you didn’t have to show me around, anyone could have,” They pointed out. “Thank you.”

Sam blinked at them, like he hadn’t considered that it was optional. “You’re welcome, then.”

They stood in silence for a moment. Five was still processing everything Sam had told them about Abel. He was looking at them, they could tell even without facing him, but he didn’t seem to be judging. Five wanted to ask what he was thinking, but it would probably just embarrass him to be caught. The day was starting to cool down, with the clouds beginning to cover the sun, and a cold breeze blew over the township. Five shivered, they should’ve asked Sam to take them to storage first so they could find a sweatshirt. 

“Here,” Sam’s voice broke through their thoughts, and they turned to see him offering them his hoodie. “You’re cold,” He continued, as though he had to explain his action.

They took the hoodie from him, too surprised to object, and pulled it on. 

“It’s a bit big on you,” He commented, smiling amusedly. 

He was right, Five had noted that he was a good amount taller than them already, and the hoodie hadn’t exactly been small on him. “It’s fashion,” They replied, then smiled up at him. “Thank you.” 

“Yeah,” Sam’s smile softened. “I mean, I’ve got long sleeves, so I’m fine without it anyways.” 

“I should probably get more clothes. I’m fashionable but not…” They paused, mentally searching for the sign. They gave up after a moment, opting to spell it instead. “Practical.”

“I can take you over to storage,” He offered, then pulled up his sleeve to check his watch. “I won’t be able to stay though, there’s a run scheduled in twenty minutes.” 

“Exciting,” Five replied, falling instep with Sam as they started back down the path.

“Hopefully not too exciting,” He said. “Some things are better if they’re a bit boring.”

“I hope it’s nice and boring then,” They amended.

“Thank you,” He paused for a moment. “I mean, not too boring though,”

Five grinned, shaking their head. “I hope it is the perfect amount of boring.”

Sam pointed at them in a _You got it! gesture, and Five laughed._

* * *

Five left the storage room with an armful of clothes. They hadn’t wanted to take too much, there were plenty of other people at Abel, but they currently had nothing. They wished once more that they’d grabbed their backpack from the crash, but they’d been too focused on surviving. Damn their impeccable survival instinct. They made their way back to the runner’s lodging to drop their new clothes off, humming quietly to themself as they went. They liked Abel so far, and they weren’t lying to themself like they had about Mullins. Things could certainly change, but for now, they were pretty alright. 

They yanked open the door to the main room of the runner’s quarters, jumping over the threshold before it could close on them. It slammed shut much louder than they expected and they winced. 

“Don’t let the door slam, how many times-oh,” 

Five winced at the tone of annoyance and turned to find the source of the voice. He was a tall man with gym-guy muscles and a slightly confused look on his face. Rather than attempting to introduce themself with an armful of clothes, they gave him a thumbs up and made a beeline to their bunk room. They thankfully were able to close the door before anything else was said and blew out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that they were antisocial, they just didn’t want to meet new people right in that moment. 

They climbed up to their bunk and laid out the clothes, setting to the task of folding everything. They weren’t sure what storage in the room was theirs, and would have to ask when their bunk-mates were around. They paused at the realization that the man in the main room might be one of their bunkmates. The bunks didn’t seem to be separated by gender, or someone would have asked them where they wanted to go, that was usually how it went. If that was the case, they’d just made a great first impression on someone they’d be sharing a very small space with. Why couldn’t everyone here be like Sam and Dr. Maxine? 

They slumped back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. They would be homesick if home was a thing that still existed, but it didn’t, and they certainly weren’t nostalgic for Mullins. They were on the mission that landed them in Abel because they’d worked their ass off to get to a point where Mullins might send them out of the godforsaken base. So, rather than be homesick, they just felt off. 

After letting themself feel shitty for a few moments, Five sat back up and grabbed some clothes that could actually pass as daywear. They jumped down from the bunk and opened the door to the main room. Luckily it was empty, they could worry about a proper introduction to Mr. Muscles later. 

The bathroom was easy enough to find since there weren’t many doors to check and it was clearly labeled. It reminded them a little bit of their old high school gym’s set up, though here there was a little more privacy. Still, several people could certainly make use of it at once. One of the things Five appreciated about being with more organized, governmentally recognized groups was that most of them had some version of actual plumbing. The showers here seemed to be slightly more advanced than a camp shower, and if they had to guess there was a rainwater reservoir on the outside wall of the bathroom. They supposed they would get to wait and see on whether it was heated or not. 

They decided to stop analyzing the bathroom and get dressed. A quick look in the mirror had them annoyed about losing their stuff again, since they had nothing to get their hair out of the way. Five could guarantee that there would be someone willing to lend them a hairband, though. After a life of being on track and cross country teams, they knew that runners were happy to share hairbands. Or the nice ones were. They hoped Abel had nice runners, otherwise things might end up sucking anyways. 

Back in the bunkroom, Five carefully folded Sam’s hoodie and set it on their bed, planning to return it later. They had a sweatshirt that fit them now, emblazoned with a brand they didn’t recognize, so they could give his back. Though his was more comfortable. That wasn’t a good reason to steal someone’s personal property though. They could figure that out later, for now they should probably do something. What, they weren’t sure. 

Five headed back out to the main room, and was surprised to see that there was someone out there. They didn’t know why they were surprised, obviously there were other runners, they’d seen Mr. Muscles earlier. It was another man, there seemed to be several at Abel, and he smiled when he saw them. He also had a large, friendly looking dog sitting beside him. 

“You must be the new Five,” He motioned them over, and offered a hand when they were close enough. “I’m Evan, Runner Seven, Head of the Runners.” 

Five shook his hand. They wanted to pet his dog, but this seemed like a situation that they should make a good first impression in. 

“You have a strong grip,” He commented. “Sam told me you don’t talk, and I don’t know sign, so I brought you this,” He offered them a small whiteboard and expo marker. “I borrowed it from the school here.” 

Five wanted very badly to ask how Sam had phrased that bit of information. Was it _”The new Five doesn’t talk and it’s aggravating.”_ or _”They don’t say anything and it creeps me out.”_ or _”Just by the way, they don’t seem to talk, so you’ll want to find a way to communicate.”_ but none of that felt appropriate to the conversation. Instead they scrawled out a quick “Thank you,” on the whiteboard. 

“Of course,” Evan replied cordially. “Sam told me that he had already shown you around, and I’m fairly certain he gave you a better tour than I would, so I won’t worry about that. I wanted to speak to you about officially becoming a runner.” 

After a moment, Five nodded, assuming Evan wanted confirmation that they wanted to become a runner. They wondered if anyone had ever declined the position, it seemed pretty sweet. Even if there were three bunk beds shoved in every bunkroom, they still had their own runner’s building and got to go places. Yes, while they were going places, they were being chased by zombies intent on killing them, but it was still fresh air. 

“There will be two parts to the test, a mile as fast as you can manage, and a distance run, both out on the track, with a break in between the two. You’ll be able to complete it as soon as Dr. Myers clears you, and start out in the field immediately after. Do you have any questions?” He spoke as though he had given this exact explanation a million times, which probably wasn’t too far off. 

Five used their sleeve to clean the whiteboard before writing their response. “Can I do it today?” 

Evan smiled again, and it seemed more genuine. “Ask Dr. Myers and report back to me, we’ll set it up based on what she says.” 

Five nodded, then scribbled another question. “Can I pet your dog?” 

“Go ahead. Her name is Bonnie,” 

Five knelt and held out a hand for Bonnie to sniff, and when she wagged her tail, started scratching her behind the ears. 

“She likes people. And is generally a good judge of character,” Evan commented. 

Five looked up at him. He was looking at them with an expression they couldn’t quite place. 

“I’m glad to have you here, Five. I think you’ll be a good addition to the runners here at Abel,” With that he stood and walked out, Bonnie leaving Five to follow him. 

* * *

Armed with their whiteboard, Five pushed open the door to the hospital, hoping Maxine would be there. They really wanted to get the runners tests out of the way and get back out there, and hoped a wrist sprain wouldn’t hold them back. 

To Five’s relief, Maxine was there. They had no idea where to start looking if she wasn’t. She was sitting at her desk in her office, which was a back room a little small for that to have been the original purpose. The door was open, but Five still knocked, not wanting to startle her. 

Maxine looked up. “Oh, Five, hello,” Rather than invite Five in, she stood and joined them outside the door. “How are you doing?” 

Five gave her a thumbs up, then wrote “Evan said to check with you about if I can do the tests to be a runner today.” 

Maxine motioned them over to one of the beds. “Have a seat and I’ll check on that wrist. I don't believe anything else is severe enough to be concerning.” 

The examination was much faster than it had been the previous day, but there was less small talk without Sam there. 

“You seem to be fine, the sprain should heal fine as long as you don’t aggravate it. I don’t see why you can’t do the tests, but I would recommend waiting to do any actual missions until the sprain is healed. At the very least, no solo missions. Have an extra set of hands with you out there until both of yours work.” She sat down in one of the chairs facing the bed. “Are you… are you feeling alright here?” 

Five shrugged. “I like it better than Mullins.” 

“You don’t strike me as the military type,” Maxine commented. 

They laughed. “Not in the slightest. Needs must in the apocalypse and all that.” 

“I think you’ll fit in well here,” She smiled. “It seems like Janine is assuming you’ll be here for a while, and she’s usually right. Have you spoken to her today?” 

Five shook their head. “Should I?” 

“After you’ve officially become a runner, probably. If Evan’s having you do the tests, he’s spoken to her about it, and she’ll probably want to see you afterwards,” Maxine stood. “I should get back to work. Good luck, though I don’t think you’ll need it.” 

They stood, too, and waved to Maxine before heading back out. It was a few hours past noon, and they were running purely on the coffee Sam had given them, but they wanted to do the tests before anything else. They started towards the training area, it wasn’t far, and Evan might be there. It was still cloudy, but it hadn’t started raining. They hoped it stayed that way; running in the rain was fine, but not ideal. 

As Five approached the track in the training area, they saw that Evan was there, along with three other people. One was Sam, he must have finished his mission, one was Mr. Muscles, and one was a young woman that Five didn’t recognize. Sam waved when he saw them, and the others turned to look at them. 

“Hey Five!” Sam greeted them once they were closer. 

Five smiled in greeting. 

“Did Dr. Myers clear you?” Evan asked. 

Five nodded and gave him a thumbs up. 

“Do you want to do that now, then?” 

They nodded again, more enthusiastically. 

“I’ll grab the stopwatch, then.” Evan headed towards the small building in the center field inside the track. 

“By the way,” Sam drew Five’s attention again. “This is Jody, Runner Four,” He gestured to the woman, “And Simon, Runner Three,” He nodded to Mr. Muscles. Mr. Simon Muscles now, Five supposed. 

“Sorry about snapping at you earlier. Thought you were Jody,” Simon said. 

“Hey!” Jody didn’t sound too pleased about that, she glared at Simon, then smiled at Five. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m sure you’ll do great at the test, it’s not all too hard or anything.” 

Five returned her smile and wrote out a quick “Thank you.” 

“Can you not talk?” Simon asked. Not exactly tactfully, but Five supposed he was at least to the point. 

They looked at Sam, switching to signing. “I need a warning sign so people stop asking me that.” 

Sam grinned. “They just don’t want to talk to you, Simon.” 

“Ouch.” Simon put a hand over his heart in mock-betrayal. 

“No speaking until marriage,” Five added. “And I won’t be marrying him so he’ll never get to hear it.” 

Sam laughed and relayed the joke to the other two, earning a laugh from Jody and another wince of mock-pain from Simon. 

Evan returned with the stopwatch, putting an end to any more tactless questions. “We’ll start with the mile. Four times around the track as fast as you can. Go all in, you’ll get a break before the next part. Whenever you’re ready.” 

Five gave him a thumbs up. They jogged over to the starting line, then did a few quick stretches before starting. They didn’t mind the audience, it was nothing new for them. If anything it made the run easier, like they were doing it for their school’s team and not to run missions in an apocalypse. It was also nice that Sam would shout encouragement at each lap. 

“7:26,” Evan called as they finished the final lap. “Great job. Take a rest, stretch, and let me know when you’re ready for distance. That’ll just be going as long as you can at a good pace.” 

Five did just that, taking time to catch their breath and do some actual stretches. Sam offered them a water bottle, which they accepted gratefully. It wasn’t long until they were back on the track, ready to start again. 

They took a slower pace this time, something more sustainable. It was nice, they liked running when it wasn’t to save their life. Jody joined them for a few laps, then Simon, giving them something to focus on besides running. Both seemed nice enough, though Five could tell they would get along better with Jody. Simon reminded them of the boys on their high school team who were nice enough, but would also take off their shirts and shove each other into mud or dump water bottles on each other every time they beat a personal record. The ones who would ask Five to give them answers to the SATs, despite the fact that they knew Five never would. 

They were about 6 kilometers in when they noticed someone new had joined the group watching them. They didn’t get a good look at her, but they could tell she was a woman, and that she was staring at them. The expression on her face didn’t seem friendly, but Five really could’ve been wrong. 

Evan called for them to stop when they reached 15 kilometers, waving them back over. The woman was gone, and so was Simon. “That’s good enough, I can see you’ll do well in the field. No reason to run yourself exhausted now.” 

“Good job, Five!” Jody sounded genuinely excited for them. “It’ll be good to have you as a runner.” 

Sam held out a fist for a fistbump, which Five happily reciprocated. “Welcome to the team, Five!” 

* * *

After the running tests, Five showered, finding that while the water wasn’t hot, it was lukewarm, which was better than cold, and the stalls that separated the showers were a welcome change from Mullins, where everything was open. When they finished, they found Jody in the main room. 

She smiled when she saw them and waved them over. “I meant to say earlier, but you had the tests, I know some BSL, so you don’t have to write everything with me. I’m not fluent or anything though, but I figured I should say something since it’s probably better than nothing.” 

“It is,” Five agreed with a smile. “Do you have a hairband I can borrow?” 

“Of course! I have a whole bag under my bunk, I’ll grab some.” She stood and headed towards the bunkroom they apparently shared, Five following. 

Five got a good look at the numbers labeling each bunk for the first time, not having cared enough to check the last few times they’d been in the room. Their bunk had 5 on the top bunk and 4 on the bottom, the one on the back wall had 6 on the top bunk and 8 on the bottom, and the one across from them had 10 on the top bunk, and 3 on the bottom. Not the most sensical set up. 

Jody stood from where she’d been crouched by her bed and offered Five a handful of hairbands. 

“Thank you,” Five accepted them, reaching up to put most of them on their bunk, but keeping two. “How did people get assigned to these beds?” 

“Oh, we choose our own,” Jody explained. “If you don’t want to be in here, you find a runner who’s willing to switch with you. We tried doing it by number, and then by gender, but there were always a few people unhappy with the set up, so we decided choosing our own was the best bet. It’s not like we do much besides sleep and store our stuff here, anyways.” 

Five nodded, that made sense. “I don’t think I’ll switch, rooming with you sounds nice.” 

Jody grinned. “You’ll have to deal with Simon.” 

They shrugged. “I’ll manage.” 

“You say that,” Her tone was joking. “It’s about time for dinner, do you want to come to the cafeteria with me?” 

Jody led Five to the cafeteria and, after getting their food, brought them over to a table where several other runners were sitting, as well as Sam and Maxine. Five sat beside Sam, across from Jody, and smiled when he greeted them. They’d been at Abel for less than two days, and already felt like they might have found their place here. They listened to the other runners chat and laugh, more focused on the people than the food. 

Five was lost in the conversation until someone clearing their throat drew their attention. They turned in their seat to see Janine standing behind them. 

“Mr. Deaubl informed me that you passed the tests to officially become a runner. I am happy to hear that, as Mullins has informed me that they will not be sending anyone for you.” She didn’t seem particularly happy, though Five was starting to think that was just how she was. 

Five nodded their understanding, not sure if Janine wanted anything else from them. 

Apparently not, because Janine simply nodded back, and went on her way. Five turned their attention back to the others, none of whom seemed to have been paying attention to Janine and Five’s exchange. Sam looked at them and raised his eyebrows in a silent question. Five smiled and waved him off. 

They were at Abel for the long run, then. It was official now, no more Mullins. They were Runner Five, they would be working with Sam and Jody and Maxine. And they liked it here, that’s what they’d been telling themself all day, so, therefore, this was a good thing. This was a good thing. They took a bite of their dinner--lukewarm soup--and tried to enjoy it, because this should really be a good thing, and if they told themself that enough, it would be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a quote from my best friend/beta reader: "do they have a legit track on this base? pog." 
> 
> the brand on the sweatshirt is "Baskin Robbins" five is just stupid. 5am is gonna be a thing ive already done a 180 on my uncertainty. idk if their mile is that good mine sucks and i dont wanna be like....... WILDLY inaccurate or anything. so if thats not a good mile time just pretend it is. also just assume everyone knows fives pronouns, I have to correct ppl on my pronouns constantly i dont want that in my escapist fiction. they have a fuckin forehead tattoo that just says "THEY/THEM" /j
> 
> also, if five ever processes something and youre like "human brains dont work like that" i have news for you and its that mine does
> 
> been a bit since chapter one but i cant promise any kinda schedule because i do this for me lol, and i unfortunately have a life outside of zombies run :( 
> 
> thank y'all for reading, i would love to hear what you think! im @gardenrocket on tumblr and i LOVE hearing from ppl so know my dms and my askbox are open :) y'all are poggers for reading


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